Features:
- 16-bit on-stick processor
- Multilayered forces
- Infrared beam signals your every move
- Built-in digital-optical "camera" reads your exact position
- Dependable solid-circuit board with a minimal number of connectors
Description:
After its introduction in 1997, the SideWinder Force Feedback Pro joystick swiftly became one of the bestselling gaming peripherals. It recently reached the mark of over 1 million units sold, and for good reason. It offers over 100 different Force Feedback effects, from subtle shudders to wrist-twisting explosions. The Force Feedback Pro is one of the more expensive sticks out there, but Microsoft helps make up for it here by including the full version of MechWarrior 3. The well-built stick features a large base, which takes up some desktop space, but also offers a solid foundation for gaming. The stick itself sports an eight-way point-of-view hat, as well as three action buttons and a fire button. Your left hand rests on the side of the base and has access to four programmable action buttons, a shift button, and a throttle. The shift button provides secondary output for each of the action buttons, and the swiveling stick can also handle rudder control. The SideWinder software makes it easy to customize all the stick's buttons; you can even assign a series of keystrokes (such as a rocket jump in a first-person shooter) to a single button. The Force Feedback effects are some of the best around, bolstered by on-stick sensors that react to your subtlest moves. The Force Feedback RAM, built into the stick, stores and calculates different forces, and the Force Feedback Pro's 16-bit processor communicates commands between the stick and your games. All of this feedback comes with a minor tradeoff: the cooling fan built into the base can get a bit annoying during gameplay. Even with MechWarrior 3, the Force Feedback Pro will cost you plenty. There are other joysticks out there that dutifully serve their purpose in flight sims and action games, but none that really provides the all-around feature set and extras that the Force Feedback Pro gives gamers. Pros:
- Great force-feedback effects
- Bundled with full version of MechWarrior 3
Cons:
- Fairly expensive
- Heavy
- Takes up desk space
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